David Cameron: We will be out of Afghanistan right on time

British soldiers will be out of Afghanistan on schedule with their ‘heads held high’ despite fears that the Taliban could regain control, David Cameron said.

David Cameron spoke at a Nato summit in Chicago (Picture: EPA)

They will hand over to Afghan security forces by 2014 as planned, the prime minister told a Nato summit in Chicago. ‘That is our deadline,’ he added. And he insisted the Taliban could never win back control through force after the international withdrawal of troops.

‘The message to the insurgency is equally clear: you can’t win on the battlefield; stop fighting and start talking,’ Mr Cameron said.

He admitted there would be a ‘better outcome’ if efforts to build up the Afghan security were accompanied by political progress. ‘But I am confident that our troops can leave with their heads held high having completed the combat task in 2014, because they will be handing over to fully capable Afghan National Security Forces.’

But senior officials acknowledged there was no guarantee that terrorists would not be able to re-establish a foothold in the country.

‘It is unrealistic to assume that Afghanistan is going to be completely secure and there is no possibility of a terrorist threat re-emerging,’ said one.

Meanwhile, the commander of the international military force, US Gen John Allen, warned they would face combat fighting right up until the last day of their mission.